Client Success Story: The Fighter

Age: 34

Time Frame: 12 weeks

There have been many times in my own life where I’ve faced adversity and was given a choice to become a victim or fight a battle. None of these compares to the adversity that this client faced in a blink of an eye.

She’s a friend who I felt extremely honored to guide in her “come back” journey. But much more than that she is an inspiration to me, a reminder of perspective and above all, she makes me be more intentional in my own life.

Her story is humbling and unique and will likely make you want to be better every single day. She put in hard work to push herself to the limits and realized food was a powerful tool for her success.

Here Is Her Story:

“It was January of 2017 when I finally made the choice to stop trying different nutritional approaches that (no matter how strict I was) never delivered. I know I’m kind of an odd case as a female who has been trying to put on mass for the last few YEARS with tough luck. The first official mass diet I tried after failing at “DIY” macros, was with Renaissance Periodization and I LOST 10 POUNDS in the first 3 weeks. Not the direction I was going for, but I was holding onto this idea that if I kept following the instructions, my body would follow too. At the end of the 12-week cycle, I was up 4 pounds from my original weight. It became obvious to me that nutrition is not one-size-fits-all.

This is when I made a mental shift that really dictated my decision of working with Amanda. I had been so consumed with the idea that the more I weighed, the stronger I could be. But, like with a lot of things, I don’t really fit into the “normal” box. I’m a hard-gainer. I had to get dialed in with timing and consuming macros that adjusted to my training goals whether it be hypertrophy or absolute strength phases.

Weightlifting is a sport about discipline and mental fortitude – and it was something that sort of shaped my perspective at a time when I was trying to pull my life back together.

Because, just when I fell in love with weightlifting, I found out I had cancer and needed brain surgery. As I got back in the gym and started to recover, I found out that I needed another full-on brain surgery. To say I was angry or hopeless is a complete understatement.

My life became surreal and I struggled with PTSD, anxiety, panic attacks, and this fear that I was slipping away to crazy land. BUT, I kept my regimen and showed up at the gym because I wanted to show my kids and husband that I was determined to heal. Once I got my balance and grip strength back, I was on the lifting platforms constantly… dead lifting weight that I used to push press. But I steadily improved and got to a point where I felt like maybe I could be competitive.

You only live once, right?

This is where my journey with Amanda really helped shape my goals. I have to laugh a little bit when I look back on all the crap I put her through. First, I started out cutting the fluff from my unsuccessful mass (that didn’t even give me any strength gains!) to another mass, to another cut when I realized that even though my lifts were going up, my body weight was still closer to the lower weight class.

Somehow, despite my macro ADD, she kept performance at the forefront and I was stronger than ever as we headed to the American Open Series in Miami, Florida! I say “we” because even though she was back in Arizona, we were in constant communication about my unfortunate water retention which almost cost me the chance to lift. I had to do some last minute sweating under the careful eye of my weightlifting coach, but we made weight, barely. Thanks to their combined effort, I got to lift on a national platform!

It was an incredible milestone that I plan to improve upon with Amanda’s help. Weightlifting has made me stronger in every way and I’m grateful for the process. I now know that success is not just dependent on the effort put into training, but also in nutrition and rest (she even made me log my sleep!).

The ups are good, but the downs mean better things are coming… if you work for it.”